A little bit of vegan controversy... oops.
Currently I am vegan and have been since April 2014. I am not just a dietary vegan but an ethical one too, so I'm very committed to living this way. But for some (the few, not the many) veganism is not quite the cure-all anticipated, despite the well-documented health advantages to the general individual.
For example since going vegan I have had a spike in dental issues including sensitivity and cavities. I have changed my toothpaste numerous times, over the past year and a half, trying to find one that would work better, and at times I have brushed my teeth as often as five times a day because it was so excruciatingly sensitive. I don't eat vegan junk or processed foods - my diet is based on high carbohydrate whole foods. I have googled 'vegan dental health' so many times and tried every trick suggested - including coating my teeth in plant-based fats such as coconut, using straws, and numerous others.
There are, of course, many people who declare that since going vegan their dental health has improved (not declined). This gets me thinking 'what on earth were they eating beforehand?!' I've generally always had an organic whole foods diet, whether eating animal products or not, and rarely touch processed foods. But I've also always had teeth issues anyway despite flossing etc.. They say there is a link between dental health later in life and how long your mother breast-fed - I know mine quit breastfeeding as soon as she possibly could!
Which has left me wondering about my high-fructose vegan diet, rich in natural plant-based sugars. Everything I have tried for my teeth has failed - flossing all the time, mouthwash, x5 brushes, rinsing with water after meals etc.. However I didn't have this issue at all when on a lacto-vegetarian diet, which I kept for over two years very successfully before going vegan. That's only an observation.
They say that dairy does indeed help protect tooth enamel due to the presence of casein, a certain milk protein. Casein is present in almost all animal milks, including human milk, and studies show that it can help prevent tooth erosion with immediate affect. But it has its risks too - it has a strong link to prostate cancer and others.
I am then returned to all the reasons I gave up dairy in the first place. However, in the UK, there is one particular company of note called Ahimsa (I'll leave readers to peruse their credentials) which has surfaced as an option to me. But it certainly re-opens the old 'what does a vegan do about medicine?' debate. I have always treated this as a case-by-case issue, only taking the vaccines I really needed to safeguard my life (for those that do not know, some vaccines are cultured in animal cells - generally pig or egg cells). I know that unless I felt my health was at risk I would not dream of breaking my vegan diet... but that does seem to be the case. And if I do break it, am I really 'breaking' it or am I just a vegan now taking an animal-based medicine? I know how I feel about it, but what do others think? I'm curious.
And to put this into perspective, since going vegan I have actually developed a mild form of macrocytic anaemia and now have a consultant haematologist. Despite having good B12 and folate levels (deficiencies of either can cause this condition), not drinking alcohol and a diet rich in iron, this has happened to my blood. I've been quiet about this because veganism is so important to me. But, at the age of 24, if I lose my teeth before I hit 30... then the issues are starting to stack. I've also lost a lot of body fat which in my case, since I was already really quite slim, hasn't been a good thing - women need a certain amount of body fat to keep reproductively healthy and even this has been a struggle on a vegan diet (for me). I was too determined to plough on through despite even having hair loss due to a lack of fat on my scalp to hold the follicles in place - in other words, even my head was too bony. I have consulted GPs, dieticians, and had blood tests - on paper I'm doing everything right, my weight is fine, but something appears to be going really quite wrong. Now, I usually hover between being 'on weight' or being only very slightly under and I don't have an eating disorder or anything like that - I've just always been of a slim build and I'm pointing this out before people suggest my weight is the issue.
So I have body fat that is too low, bad teeth, and a blood condition. Hmm...
This is not an attack on veganism, which is a diet I vehemently defend. In fact, this isn't any kind of attack. But I'd like to take the opportunity to suggest that not every one can make veganism (the diet) work - however hard they try or want it to work. Really. Here is another such example of a committed vegan who had to change because, for all their efforts, they had B12 issues which were not satisfactorily solved (even by injections) and resulted in permanent nerve damage. Whatever the case, it's always hard to accept - psychologically - for ethical vegans like myself. I'd like to open this conversation because there are some who make themselves really quite unhealthy due to an orthorexic mindset - from raw vegans who get so ill because they continue to eat gazpacho over cold winters without helping to raise their body core temperatures adequately (plenty of examples online).
My advice to anyone would be to go vegan for the planet, for the animals, for the future, and listen to your needs. The vegan diet can be perfectly healthy for all - even babies, pregnant mothers, the elderly - and then again some seem to fail. If it does, only change what needs to be changed to the bare amount - through ethical sourcing - so that you can continue to have as little negative impact as possible. I am reminded that the original definition of veganism is:
Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
'As far as is possible and practicable'. This doesn't mean pushing your body as far as I have. I am an animist, which is what makes my revelation particularly hard, but there have been animists for centuries who weren't vegan. My personal conclusion?
I'm going to be switching to a 6-day vegan diet and taking a small amount of medicinal dairy on the 7th day. I call it 'medicinal', because it is and will be. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't feel I needed to - to see if my dental health improves, help my body fat, and blood condition (since milk also contains iron). I'm not going to be cooking madly with cheese and cream again but, instead, taking a measured amount of slaughter-free milk just like anyone would with liquid medicine. To begin treating it like food again would be a further ethical regression easily avoided (certainly of the psychological variety). If my health improves that's as far as I'll go; if I need more dairy I can move in small incremental steps toward finding the balance I need. I can even gradually work toward a situation in which I can keep my own dairy animal so that I can guarantee its quality of life and natural insemination, for it's whole life on good land, and the lives of its offspring from which will not be separated. I can continually ask myself how I can best stay healthy and live sustainably in a violence-free way.
If veganism is making you very unhealthy too, despite your efforts and best intentions, I hope you will take a few lessons from me here. Then again do not be put off the vegan diet either - there is no excuse not to try and give it everything you've possibly got.
Let the debate begin!
Currently I am vegan and have been since April 2014. I am not just a dietary vegan but an ethical one too, so I'm very committed to living this way. But for some (the few, not the many) veganism is not quite the cure-all anticipated, despite the well-documented health advantages to the general individual.
For example since going vegan I have had a spike in dental issues including sensitivity and cavities. I have changed my toothpaste numerous times, over the past year and a half, trying to find one that would work better, and at times I have brushed my teeth as often as five times a day because it was so excruciatingly sensitive. I don't eat vegan junk or processed foods - my diet is based on high carbohydrate whole foods. I have googled 'vegan dental health' so many times and tried every trick suggested - including coating my teeth in plant-based fats such as coconut, using straws, and numerous others.
There are, of course, many people who declare that since going vegan their dental health has improved (not declined). This gets me thinking 'what on earth were they eating beforehand?!' I've generally always had an organic whole foods diet, whether eating animal products or not, and rarely touch processed foods. But I've also always had teeth issues anyway despite flossing etc.. They say there is a link between dental health later in life and how long your mother breast-fed - I know mine quit breastfeeding as soon as she possibly could!
Which has left me wondering about my high-fructose vegan diet, rich in natural plant-based sugars. Everything I have tried for my teeth has failed - flossing all the time, mouthwash, x5 brushes, rinsing with water after meals etc.. However I didn't have this issue at all when on a lacto-vegetarian diet, which I kept for over two years very successfully before going vegan. That's only an observation.
They say that dairy does indeed help protect tooth enamel due to the presence of casein, a certain milk protein. Casein is present in almost all animal milks, including human milk, and studies show that it can help prevent tooth erosion with immediate affect. But it has its risks too - it has a strong link to prostate cancer and others.
I am then returned to all the reasons I gave up dairy in the first place. However, in the UK, there is one particular company of note called Ahimsa (I'll leave readers to peruse their credentials) which has surfaced as an option to me. But it certainly re-opens the old 'what does a vegan do about medicine?' debate. I have always treated this as a case-by-case issue, only taking the vaccines I really needed to safeguard my life (for those that do not know, some vaccines are cultured in animal cells - generally pig or egg cells). I know that unless I felt my health was at risk I would not dream of breaking my vegan diet... but that does seem to be the case. And if I do break it, am I really 'breaking' it or am I just a vegan now taking an animal-based medicine? I know how I feel about it, but what do others think? I'm curious.
And to put this into perspective, since going vegan I have actually developed a mild form of macrocytic anaemia and now have a consultant haematologist. Despite having good B12 and folate levels (deficiencies of either can cause this condition), not drinking alcohol and a diet rich in iron, this has happened to my blood. I've been quiet about this because veganism is so important to me. But, at the age of 24, if I lose my teeth before I hit 30... then the issues are starting to stack. I've also lost a lot of body fat which in my case, since I was already really quite slim, hasn't been a good thing - women need a certain amount of body fat to keep reproductively healthy and even this has been a struggle on a vegan diet (for me). I was too determined to plough on through despite even having hair loss due to a lack of fat on my scalp to hold the follicles in place - in other words, even my head was too bony. I have consulted GPs, dieticians, and had blood tests - on paper I'm doing everything right, my weight is fine, but something appears to be going really quite wrong. Now, I usually hover between being 'on weight' or being only very slightly under and I don't have an eating disorder or anything like that - I've just always been of a slim build and I'm pointing this out before people suggest my weight is the issue.
So I have body fat that is too low, bad teeth, and a blood condition. Hmm...
This is not an attack on veganism, which is a diet I vehemently defend. In fact, this isn't any kind of attack. But I'd like to take the opportunity to suggest that not every one can make veganism (the diet) work - however hard they try or want it to work. Really. Here is another such example of a committed vegan who had to change because, for all their efforts, they had B12 issues which were not satisfactorily solved (even by injections) and resulted in permanent nerve damage. Whatever the case, it's always hard to accept - psychologically - for ethical vegans like myself. I'd like to open this conversation because there are some who make themselves really quite unhealthy due to an orthorexic mindset - from raw vegans who get so ill because they continue to eat gazpacho over cold winters without helping to raise their body core temperatures adequately (plenty of examples online).
My advice to anyone would be to go vegan for the planet, for the animals, for the future, and listen to your needs. The vegan diet can be perfectly healthy for all - even babies, pregnant mothers, the elderly - and then again some seem to fail. If it does, only change what needs to be changed to the bare amount - through ethical sourcing - so that you can continue to have as little negative impact as possible. I am reminded that the original definition of veganism is:
Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.
'As far as is possible and practicable'. This doesn't mean pushing your body as far as I have. I am an animist, which is what makes my revelation particularly hard, but there have been animists for centuries who weren't vegan. My personal conclusion?
I'm going to be switching to a 6-day vegan diet and taking a small amount of medicinal dairy on the 7th day. I call it 'medicinal', because it is and will be. I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't feel I needed to - to see if my dental health improves, help my body fat, and blood condition (since milk also contains iron). I'm not going to be cooking madly with cheese and cream again but, instead, taking a measured amount of slaughter-free milk just like anyone would with liquid medicine. To begin treating it like food again would be a further ethical regression easily avoided (certainly of the psychological variety). If my health improves that's as far as I'll go; if I need more dairy I can move in small incremental steps toward finding the balance I need. I can even gradually work toward a situation in which I can keep my own dairy animal so that I can guarantee its quality of life and natural insemination, for it's whole life on good land, and the lives of its offspring from which will not be separated. I can continually ask myself how I can best stay healthy and live sustainably in a violence-free way.
If veganism is making you very unhealthy too, despite your efforts and best intentions, I hope you will take a few lessons from me here. Then again do not be put off the vegan diet either - there is no excuse not to try and give it everything you've possibly got.
Let the debate begin!
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